Academy President Hawk Koch announced today that acclaimed motion picture, television and theater producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced Chicago, Footloose and the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman comedy The Bucket List, will produce the 85th Academy Awards, airing live Sunday, February 24, 2013.

"Craig and Neil are forward thinkers who bring a unique perspective to the Oscar show," says Koch . "Their enormous collective talent, coupled with their love of film, serves our show perfectly."

"We are very excited to collaborate with Hawk and everyone at the Academy to produce this year's Oscars," say Zadan and Meron. "We hope to utilize our experience in producing features, TV and theater to bring something fresh and special to this incredible awards show. When we filmed The Bucket List, we made our own personal bucket list, and producing the Oscars was #1. It’s truly a great honor."

In addition to the 2002 Best Picture winner Chicago and the recent Footloose remake (Zadan also produced the original Footloose in '84), Zadan and Meron's big-screen credits include Hairspray. On TV, their work includes SMASH, A Raisin in the Sun and the upcoming Steel Magnolias, and on Broadway they were the driving force behind the Tony Award winning revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Promises, Promises.